574 New COVID-19 Cases... Back to 500s After Two Days

On the 3rd, a student is undergoing a test at a mobile COVID-19 PCR testing site installed at Seoul Sports Middle and High School in Songpa-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has dropped below 600 for the first time in two days. The weekly average of locally transmitted cases also remained below 600 for the second consecutive day, drawing attention to whether the spread of the virus is slowing down.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Central Disease Control Headquarters reported that as of midnight on the 6th, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 574 from the previous day to 125,519. Among the new cases, 562 were locally transmitted and 12 were imported from overseas.

Sixty-six percent of the locally transmitted cases occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area. There were 211 cases (37.5%) in Seoul, 142 cases (25.3%) in Gyeonggi Province, and 19 cases (3.4%) in Incheon, totaling 372 cases in the metropolitan area.

Other regions reported new cases as follows: 38 in Ulsan, 28 in Busan, 21 in Gyeongbuk, 18 in Daejeon, 17 in Gyeongnam, 13 in Chungnam, 12 in Gangwon, 10 in Jeonnam, 8 in Gwangju, 7 in Daegu, 6 in Chungbuk, 6 in Jeju, 5 in Jeonbuk, and 1 in Sejong.

The weekly average of locally transmitted cases, a key indicator for adjusting social distancing levels, stood at 573.1, maintaining the 500s range for two consecutive days.

There were 12 imported cases, of which 8 were detected during quarantine and 4 were confirmed locally. Among them, 4 were Korean nationals and 8 were foreigners.

The total number of tests conducted the previous day was 37,176. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 17,958 tests were conducted, identifying 78 new cases. In non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics, 2,295 tests were performed, confirming 10 new cases.

The number of patients who have recovered and been released from isolation reached 115,491, an increase of 547 from the previous day. Among hospitalized patients, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 1 to 172. The death toll rose by 4 to 1,851.

On the 3rd, an elderly person is receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at the vaccination center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 5,253 people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total number of first-dose recipients to 3,560,324. Among them, 1,922,520 received the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, and 1,637,804 received the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccination rate relative to the population is 6.9%.

The number of people who completed the second dose increased by 25,310 from the previous day to 323,505. The second-dose vaccination rate relative to the population is 0.6%.

The number of suspected adverse reaction reports increased by 150 to a total of 18,260.

There were no death reports, but one additional case of suspected anaphylaxis was reported. The number of severe suspected cases admitted to intensive care units due to adverse reactions also increased by 3.

The remaining 146 cases involved common post-vaccination symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, fever, chills, and nausea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.